A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.
This application relates generally to video cameras, and more specifically to CMOS cameras in laptop computers.
As video, telephony, and computers have merged, the need for a compact video camera that interfaces to the computer has arisen. Video conferencing is a natural application, but other applications abound. In view of this need, there have been developed small portable cameras that can sit on top of a computer monitor. An example is a family of cameras marketed under the QuickCam mark by Connectix Corporation of San Mateo, Calif.
As laptop computers have evolved, there was recognized a need to provide for improved video input. The Zoomed Video (ZV) port was defined to provide a dedicated video bus between a PC card slot and a VGA graphics controller. The ZV port bypasses the system buses and allows the direct transfer of digital video from a PC Card host adapter into the graphics controller""s associated display memory.
The present invention provides enhanced video capabilities in the demanding environment of laptop computers. Embodiments of the present invention allow image panning and zooming without the need for delicate mechanical mechanisms.
A laptop computer according to an embodiment of the invention includes a video camera mounted to the lid, preferably embedded into the bezel above the display. The video data is communicated along a dedicated path from the camera to a graphics controller for output to the display, thereby bypassing the system bus. This makes it possible to display full frame, full data rate video with minimum impact on the overall system performance. In a preferred embodiment, the communication makes use of the graphics controller""s Zoomed Video (ZV) port.
The camera has an imaging array (preferably a CMOS sensor array) and a fixed focal length lens (preferably wide angle). Panning and zooming are implemented by software that controls the addresses in the pixel array from which data are transferred to the graphics controller""s associated display memory.
A further understanding of the nature and advantages of the present invention may be realized by reference to the remaining portions of the specification and the drawings.